253 


American  Flax  Growers  Waste  $40,000,000  Worth  of  Fiber  Annually. 


Lfc  A    "V 

LAX 


FOR  THE  SEED  AND  THE  FIBER, 


IN 


i  \XITKU   ST.VTKS 


Published  by  HIRAM  SIBLEY  <&  CO.,  Seedsmen, 
Rochester,  N.Y.  Chicago,  III: 


o 


E dv/ard   J .   '. /  i  ck s  on 


MAIN  LIBRARY-AGRICULTURE  DEFT. 


Edward  J.  "v/iclison, 


AMERICAN    FI.AX   (,RO\VKRS  WASTE   $40,  000,  000  WORTH  OF 


KLAX  CULTURE 


FOR  THE  SEED  AND  THE  FIBER,     . 


IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

I 

' 

\Vithi  Special  Reference  to  the  States  \Vest 
of    F^ennsvlvania. 


B     H. 


A  Flax  Grower  and  Manufacturer  of  Twenty- Five  Years  Experience  in  Ireland,  Belgium. 
Russia  and  the  United  States, 


COPYRIGHT,  1883,  BY  HIKAM  SIBI.RY  &  Co. 


PUBLISHED    KV 

HIRAM  SIBLEY   &    CO.,    SEEDSMEN, 

ROCHESTER,  X.  Y.,  AND  CHICAGO,  ILL 

1883. 


BY    \V^Y    OK    INTRODUCTION. 


TO  AMERICAN  FARMERS  : 

In  submitting  this  pamphlet  on  Flax  Culture,  I  ask  your  attention  to  a  plain  state- 
ment of  facts.  By  ceasing  from  henceforth  to  neglect  our  own  interests  as  we  have  done 
in  the  past,  and  by  resolutely  entering  upon  reforms  in  Flax  raising,  we  thereby  prepare 
the  way  for  the  development  of  the  national  linen  industry  which  now  is  and  will  remain  in 
its  infancy  so  long  as  the  necessary  raw  material  must  be  imported  from  Europe,  chiefly 
from  Russia  and  Ireland,  while  we  are  destroying,  or  allowing  to  go  to  waste,  valuable 
raw  material  every  year  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons. 

The  Flax  fiber  produced  in  the  western  states,  has  thus  been  annually  destroyed  in  untold 
quantities,  and  has  also  been  through  careless  and  improper  cultivation,  rendered  unfit  for 
use  by  manufactories.  By  bestowing  a  little  more  care  on  our  Flax  crop,  we  might  have 
annually  added  to  the  wealth  of  the  community  ten  million  dollars,  taking  the  very  lowest 
estimate  of  only  $10.00  per  acre  on  one  million  acres,  which  are  every  year  under  Flax  in 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  One  million 
acres  ought  to  have  produced  $35,000,000  worth  of  raw  material,  and  even  this  sum  falls 
far  short  of  the  value  of  the  product,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  :  The  aggregate 
acreage  under  flax  in  Europe  is  estimated  to  be  about  3,344,300  acres,  producing  annually 
about  457,675  tons  of  clean  Flax  fiber.  Therefore,  proportionately,  our  western  states  should 
be  capable  of  producing  over  160,000  tons  of  said  raw  material,  which,  at  the  rate  of 
$300.00  per  ton,  (supposing  a  fiber  of  good  medium  quality  to  be  produced)  would  be  worth 
$48,000,000. 

Nor  is  this  all.  In  addition  to  the  above  amount  of  Flax  fiber,  the  countries  of  Europe 
annually  produce  immense  quantities  of  Flax  seed  for  sowing  and  crushing,  thus  further 
illustrating  the  glaring  contrast  between  their  perfect  and  rational  system  and  our  one- 
sided and  primitive  mode  of  Flax  cultivation  for  seed  only,  and  allowing  the  more  valuable 
fiber  to  go  to  waste. 

This  is  even  a  more  powerful  reason  why  we  are  bound  to  abandon  the  course  we 
have  followed  hitherto,  if  our  object  is  to  earn  the  legitimate  remuneration  due  to  labor. 
Raising  Flax  seed  was,  no  doubt,  remunerative-enough  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago, 
when  its  price  was  about  treble  what  it  is  now,  namely  $2.65  to  $2.85  per  bushel  ;  but  \ve 
now  get  only  85  to  90  cents,  and  often  the  yield  is  only  5  to  8  bushels  per  acre.  There- 
fore, we  are  positive  losers,  as  this  yield  does  not  cover  the  cost  of  production.  Surely, 
this  should  be  sufficient  inducement  for  us  to  at  once  abandon  the  present  system,  espe- 
cially if,  by  a  little  better  management,  we  can  save  both  the  seed  and  the  fiber,  so  that,  in 
case  of  comparative  failure  of  the  crop,  we  are  always  certain  of  a  reasonable  profit  over 
and  above  cost  of  production. 

A  few  words  on  the  patriotic  aspect  of  Flax  culture  for  the  fiber.  As  long  as  we  do  not 
produce  Flax  fiber  of  good  quality  suitable  for  manufacturing  purposes,  and  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  supply  even  the  present  limited  home  demand,  there  is  little  prospect  of  a  satis- 
factory development  of  this  industry  in  the  United  States,  which  is  now  confined  to  the 
production  of  twines,  threads,  and  the  coarser  flaxen  fabrics.  If,  on  the  contrary,  out  of  the 


INTR'ODUCTIO  X . 


1,000,000  acres,  now  annually  sown  with  Flax,  only  100,000  acres  were  devoted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  good  Flax  fiber,  we  would"  have  enough  to  supply  the  home  consumption  and  would 
have  a  surplus  of  10,000  tons  for  export  to  Europe.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that  if  this 
were  the  case,  linen  factories  would  soon  spring  up  in  our  midst,  and  we  would,  in  a  few 
years,  no  longer  pay  tribute  to  the  extent  of  over  $25,000,000  annually  to  Europe  for  the 
linen  goods  which  we  have  to  import  for  our  yearly  consumption  ;  and  this  sum  will 
naturally  increase  with  the  population. 

No  part  of  the  inhabited  globe  offers  so  many  advantages  to  this  branch  of  agriculture 
and  its  development  into  a  thriving  industry,  as  our  Western  States.  We  have  an  admir- 
able climate,  fertile  soil,  abundant  water  power,  such  as  no  other  country  possesses,  the 
most  perfect  machinery  for  harvesting,  preparing  the  fiber  and  for  any  other  purpose; 
ingenuity  and  spirit  of  enterprise,  in  short,  every  condition  is  present  to  ensure  success. 

The  neglect  of  such  a  valuable  product  as  Flax,  and  its  gradual  decline,  in  spite  of 
efforts  made  from  time  to  time  during  the  last  twenty  years,  has  been  attributed  by  some 
to  the  invasion  of  jute  and  an  insufficient  protective  tariff,  but  it  must  be  evident  to 
any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  of  looking  into  the  real  causes  of  the  degradation  of  Flax 
production,  that  they  are  the  following  :  Careless  cultivation,  the  utter  degeneracy  and 
generally  bad  quality  of  the  seed  sown,  the  rough  treatment  of  the  fiber  by  the  steam- 
threshing  machine,  and  finally  the  want  of  a  proper  system  for  the  economical  preparation 
of  the  fiber  for  market.  When  these  causes  are  removed,  the  Flax  industry  cannot 
fail  to  flourish  in  this  part  of  the  United  States,  and  to  occupy  the  rank  it  deserves 
among  the  national  industries,  and  it  is  my  earnest  hope  that  this  pamphlet  may  contribute 
somewhat  to  the  removal  of  certain  of  the  obstructions  which  have  hitherto  hindered  its 
development.  H.  K. 

January,   1883. 


572257 


FLAX  CULTURE 


ITS  HISTORY. 

The  native  country  of  the  Flax  plant  is  unknown,  though  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  it  to  be  Armenia;  and  no  doubt  it  was  from  thence  spread  over  all  the  countries 
known  to  the  ancients.  The  cultivation  of  the  Flax  plant,  and  the  manufacture  of  the  fiber 
into  cloth,  are  of  very  ancient  date.  The  references  to  the  fine  linen  of  Egypt,  and  the 
purple  and  fine  linen  of  Judea,  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  carry  us  back  to  a  remote 
period,  and  show  the  antiquity  of  Flax  and  its  products.  Flax  is  first  mentioned  in  Genesis 
xli,  42.  Joseph,  on  his  appointment  as  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  being  arrayed  by  Pharaoh 
in  vestures  of  fine  linen  ;  and  again  in  Exodus  ix,  31,  when  one  of  the  plagues  fell  upon  it: 
"  and  the  flax  and  the  barley  was  smitten  :  for  the  barley  was  in  the  ear,  and  the  flax  was 
boiled."  Job,  who  is  generally  supposed  to  have  lived  before  the  Mosaic  era,  complained 
that  "  his  days  were  swifter  than  the  weaver's  shuttle."  (Job  vii,  6).  The  accuracy  of 
these  allusions  may  be  tested  by  the  traveler  in  Egypt  at  the  present  day.  The  cultivation 
of  the  Flax  plant,  the  various  processes  for  separating  the  fiber  and  dressing  it,  and  the  sub- 
sequent operations  of  spinning  and  weaving  into  linen  fabrics  are  depicted,  with  artistic 
skill,  upon  the  temples  and  tombs  of  Egypt,  as  freshly  as  if  they  had  been  limned  but 
yesterday,  instead  of  4000  years  ago.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  linen  fabrics,  in 
which  the  Egyptian  Mummies  were  enveloped  more  than  forty  centuries  ago,  are  perfectly 
well-preserved  up  to  this  day,  showing  the  extraordinary  tenacity  and  endurance  of  the  Flax 
fiber,  which  qualities  are  not  possessed  in  the  same  degree,  by  any  other  textile.  The 
nations  of  antiquity  which  next  to  Egypt  were  famed  for  the  products  of  their  looms, 
were  Phoenica,  Babylonia,  Colchis,  Greece,  Italy,  Germany,  Gaul  and  Spain — the  four 
last  named  being  also  Flax-producing  regions. 

After  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  the  linen  manufacture  underwent  a  long  eclipse  in 
the  records  of  history.  Its  reappearance  in  the  tenth  century,  was  mainly  due  to  the 
Flemish.  In  this  century  the  town  of  Ypres,  in  Flanders,  was  built,  and  soon  became 
celebrated  for  its  manufacture  of  table  linen,  now  called  "  Diaper,"  i.e.  d'Ypres.  As 
early,  however,  as  the  seventh  century,  ladies  of  rank  in  England,  and  even  Royal 
Princesses,  had  acquired  much  fame  by  their  skill  in  spinning,  weaving  and  embroidering 
rich  vestments  for  the  Anglo-saxon  clergy.  After  the  Norman  conquest  there  was  a  con- 
stant immigration  of  Flemish  weavers  into  England.  The  weavers  soon  became  so 
important  a  part  of  the  body  politic,  that  they  incorporated  in  guilds  by  Royal  Charter. 
The  first  mention  of  Irish  linen  occurs  as  far  back  as  the  thirteenth  century  ;  but  it  was 
not  until  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  that  it  received  the  impulse  which  led  to  its 
becoming  the  staple  industry  of  Ulster.  The  extension  of  the  Irish  woolen  trade  excited 
the  jealousy  of  the  English  woolen  manufacturers,  and  in  the  reigns  of  Charles  II,  Wil- 
liam III,  and  Queen  Anne,  successive  enactments  were  passed  by  Parliament,  prohibiting 
the  export  of  woolen  manufactures  from  Ireland,  except  to  England  and  Wales.  Not 
content  with  these  restrictions,  in  the  tenth  year  of  William  III,  another  act  was  passed, 
founded  on  the  Report  of  a  Special  Committee,  forbidding  any  export  whatever  from 
Ireland,  of  wool  or  woolen  manufactures.  The  reasons  given  by  the  Committee  for  their 


FLAX    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


recommendation  were,  that  the  English  trade  must  be  preserved,  and  that  the  wool  and 
labor  being  so  much  cheaper  in  Ireland  than  in  Great  Britain,  the  English  manufacturers 
could  not  compete  at  all  successfully  with  those  of  Ireland. 

The  competitors  of  the  Irish  linen  manufacturers  were  to  be  found,  not  in  England, 
but  in  France  and  Flanders  ;  the  English  statesmen,  therefore,  had  every  reason  for 
encouraging  the  Irish  linen  trade.  (See  Crawford's  history  of  Ireland,  published  in  1783.) 
The  bigotry  of  a  French  Monarch  was  (next  to  the  ruin  of  the  Irish  woolen  trade,  brought 
about  by  the  causes  enumerated  above,)  the  cause  of  the  prosperity  of  the  linen  trade  of 
Ulster.  The  Huguenots  were  the  most  industrious  portion  of  the  population  of  France, 
and  their  skill  in  the  industrial  arts  enriched  the  nations  that  received  them.  A  number 
of  French  refugees  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lisburn,  near  Belfast,  after  the  revo- 
cation of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  A.  D.,  1699,  who  were  skilled  in  the  manipulation  of  Flax 
and  in  the  manufacture  of  linen.  The  most  noted  among  these  exiles  was  Mr.  Louis 
Crommelin,  of  St  Quentin,  France,  who  was  appointed  by  the  British  government 
"  Director  of  the  Linen  Manufacture  of  Ireland."  His  descendants,  the  Delacherois 
Crommelins,  are  numbered  among  the  County  families  of  the  Northern  Province  of  Ire- 
land at  the  present  day. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  progress  of  the  Flax  industry  from  that  period  down 
to  the  present  time,  if  the  compass  of  this  little  work  permitted  ;  suffice  it  there- 
fore to  state  that  Ireland,  at  the  present  day,  stands  pre  eminently  distinguished  for  the 
success  and  excellence  of  her  Flaxen  manufactures,  although  France,  Belgium  and 
Germany  still  retain  a  deserved  celebrity  for  the  firmness  of  the  fiber  and  cloth  produced 
by  their  inhabitants.  Russia  consumes  nearly  the  same  quantity  of  raw  Flax,  all  home 
grown,  in  her  factories,  as  Great  Britain,  although  this  does  not,  by  far,  suffice  for  the 
home  demand,  immense  quantities  of  linen  fabrics  beng  imported  from  Ireland,  Germany 
and  Austria.  The  linens  and  damask  goods  produced  in  the  districts  of  laroslaw, 
Kostroma  and  Archangel,  compare  very  favorably  with  similar  products  of  other  countries 
much  more  favored  in  point  of  climate,  and  show  what  results  may  be  obtained,  even 
under  adverse  circumstances,  by  patience  and  endurance.  Austria  also  produces  large 
quantities  of  fine  and  medium  linens  and  damask  goods,  and  carries  on  a  brisk  export 
trade  to  Russia  and  Italy.  The  production  of  linen  fabrics  in  other  countries  of  Europe 
besides  those  named  above,  is  insignificant. 

FLAX  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

As  regards  the  history  and  progress  of  Flax  and  Flax  manufactures  in  the  United 
States,  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  append  an  extract  from  the  interesting  chapter  on  the 
subject  contained  in  the  Report  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  1877. 

"  Previous  to  the  cheapening  and  general  diffusion  of  cotton  fabrics,  consequent  upon 
the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin  and  introduction  of  cotton  factories,  the  production  of 
flax  fiber  was  almost  co-extensive  with  the  settlements.  Outside  of  the  cities  and  of  the 
homes  of  great  planters,  there  was  scarcely  a  housewife  or  damsel,  of  whom  it  might  not 
be  said:  '  She  layeth  her  hand  to  the  spindle,  and  her  hands  hold  the  distaff.'  From  a 
series  of  papers  written  between  1787  and  1791,  by  Mr.  Tench  Coxe,  Commissioner  of 
the  Revenue,  and  for  several  years  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  it  appears  that 
manufactures  from  flax  and  hemp  had  become  an  established  and  very  important  industry; 
he  enumerates,  among  articles  '  manufactured  in  a  household  way,'  seines  and  nets  of 
various  kinds,  twine  and  packthread,  sailcloth,  towcloth,  white  and  checked  shirting, 
sheetings,  toweling,  table  linen,  bed-ticks,  hosiery,  sewing-thread  and  seine-thread  lace. 
Among  the  flax  products,  manufactured  in  families,  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 


FLAX    CULTURE. 


Island,  during  the  first  nine  months  of  1791,  Mr.  Coxe  specifies  25,625  yards  of  linen 
cloth.  The  census  of  iSio  returned  21,211,262  yards  of  flaxen  cloths  made  in  families; 
of  this,  New  York  produced  5,300,000  yards  ;  Virginia  about  5,000,000  yards  ;  Pennsyl- 
vania, 3,000,000  yards  ;  Connecticut,  2,250,000  ;  New  Hampshire,  1,000,000  ;  the  same 
census  returned  a  production  of  23,952,746  yards  of  'blended  and  unnamed  cloths  and 
stuffs,'  and  802,718  yards  of  tow  cloth.  The  census  of  1860,  after  enumerating  various 
subordinate  manufactures  from  flax  or  flax  hemp,  adds  :  Although  labor-saving  machinery 
for  spinning,  as  well  as  doubling,  trebling  and  twisting,  was  then  used  to.  some  extent, 
both  by  water  and  steam  power,  in  regular  establishments,  and  some  of  these  had  been 
introduced  into  familes,  this  extended  manufacture  of  flax  and  hemp  was  almost  wholly  a 
household  industry." 

"  In  connection  with,  and  largely  as  a  consequence  of  the  unusual  demand  for  lint  and 
tow  to  be  consumed  in  multiform  fabrics  of  house  manufacture,  sufficient  quantities  of 
seed  were  produced  not  only  for  house  use  and  internal  commerce,  but  to  leave  a  large 
surplus  for  foreign  export.  In  an  official  abstract  of  the  exports  from  the  United  States 
for  the  year  ending  September  30,  1701,  Mr.  Coxe  specifies  58,492  casks  of  flax  seed. 
This  is  assumed  to  be  equivalent  to  292,460  bushels — that  is,  over  half  of  the  entire  pro- 
duct reported  for  1860,  and  a  fraction  over  one-sixth  reported  for  1870.  Among  the 
exports  of  the  same  year  were  18,600  pounds  of  lint  and  6,850  yards  of  tow  cloth  ;  but  as 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  fabrics  in  factories  increased,  this  universal  household  industry, 
which  had  greatly  contributed  toward  keeping  families  at  home,  united  and  contented,  by 
affording  a  profitable  employment  to  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  gradually  declined  to  a  vanish- 
ing point.  One  consequence  was,  that,  while  the  demand  for  seed  was  rapidly  increasing, 
production  either  remained  stationary  or  decreased.  No  account  of  the  production  of  flax 
seed  was  taken  in  the  census  of  1840,  but  in  1850  the  reported  product  was  562,312 
bushels,  and  the  import  667,369  bushels  ;  in  1860,  the  product  566,867  bushels  and  the 
import  2,754,060  bushels  ;  in  1870,  the  product  1,730,444  and  the  import  4,141,305.  In 
1875,  the  import  was  3,783,344  bushels." 

The  enormous  increase  in  the  area  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  Flax,  chiefly  for  the 
seed  since  that  period,  in  the  states  west  of  Pennsylvania,  has  caused  a  proportionate 
diminution  of  the  import  of  Flax  seed,  which,  in  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1881,  was 
only  797,910  bushels,  chiefly  from  India.  The  acreage  appropriated  to  the  production  of 
Flax  seed  in  the  above  states,  comprising  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  in  1881,  being  no  less  thon  1,127,000  acres,  the 
estimate  of  the  quantity  of  seed  produced  is  about  8,000,000  bushels,  but  it  must  be  added 
that  through  the  heavy  rains  during  the  fall  months  of  that  year  fully  2,000,000  bushels 
were  a  total  loss,  and  much  of  the  crop  came  in  a  damaged  condition. 

A  SHAMEFUL  WASTE. 

But  while  Flax  seed  finds  a  ready  market,  and  is  easily  disposed  of  by  the  farmer,  with 
whom,  as  a  rule,  it  is,  on  that  account,  a  favorite  crop,  although  yielding  no  profit  or  at  best, 
only  a  very  small  one,  a  sad  tale  has  to  be  told  of  the  much  more  valuable  fiber,  which, 
inconsequence  of  the  entire  eclipse  of  the  "household  industry  "  mentioned  above,  has 
come  to  be  considered  by  the  farmer  as  "  a  nuisance  or  an  incumbrance,"  and  as  such,  is 
either  burned,  left  to  rot  in  the  field,  used  for  thatching  or  allowed  to  go  to  waste.  It 
is  hard  to  believe,  and  yet  it  is  a  fact,  that  probably  800,000  tons  of  Flax  straw  is  thus 
annually  doomed  to  destruction,  which,  if  turned  to  account,  inferior  in  quality  though  it 
be,  would  put  from  $4,000,000  to $5, 000,000  into  the  farmers'  treasury,  but  a  much  larger 
sum  would  annually  be  added  to  their  wealth,  if  a  more  careful  and  more  rational  mode  of 


olR    GREAT    OPPORTUNITY. 


Flax  cultivation  were  adopted,  whereby  both  the  seed  and  the  fiber  were  saved,  and,  instead 
of  the  present  inferior,  dwarfish  Flax-straw,  a  fiber  of  good  quality,  suitable  for  manu- 
facturing purposes,  were  produced. 

OUR    GREAT  OPPORTUNITY, 

The  jilea  put  forward  by  protectionists  that  on  account  of  the  so  called  "  pauper-labor  " 
in  Europe,  Flax  cannot  be  grown  as  cheaply  in  the  United  States  as  in  Europe,  is  entirely 
unfounded,  as  the  following  figures  will  demonstrate  : 

The  cost  of  production  of  Flax  in  Holland,  as  communicated  by  my  Rotterdam  Cor- 
respondents, under  date  of  September  27,  1882,  is  as  follows  : 

Per  Hectare.     Per  Acre. 

Rent  of  land,  including  plowing,  harrowing,  etc.,  fl.  300.0      $  48.00 

Seed  2#  hectolitres,  38.0  6.10 

Sowing  and  freight  on  seed,  2.0  o  32 

Weeding,       -  25.0  4.00 

Pulling  and  binding,  30.0  4.80 

Freight  by  water,  35.0  5 . 60 

Totals,  -    fl.  430  o         $68.82 

(One  hectare  is  equal  to  about  2j^  acres,  and  one  florin  is  equal  to  40  cents  United 
States  currency.) 

The  cost  of  production  of  Flax  in  France,  communicated  by  the  President  of  the 
Societe  d'Agriculture  of  Calais,  France,  under  date  of  October  7,  1882,  is  as  follows : 

Per  Hectare.     Per  Acre. 

Preparing  the  land,  three  plowings,  harrowing,  etc.,  frs.  150.0       $12.00 

Seed  2^  hectolitres,        -  62.0  5.00 

Weeding,  80.0  6.00 

Pulling  and  binding,  50.0  4.00 

Rent  of  land,     -  -         125.0         10.00 

Other  small  expenses,  18  o  I  oo 

frs.  485  .o       $38.00 

(One  franc  is  equal  to  20  cents  ;  the  hectare  is  the  same  measure  as  in  Holland). 
The  following  is  the  cost  of  production  in  Ireland  of  one  acre  of  Flax,  as  stated  by- 
Mr.  Wm.   Charley,  Seymour  Hill,  near  Belfast,  viz : 

Two  plowings     -        -  -    ,£0.17.6         $4.40 

Grubbing  and  harrowing,     .  0.10.6  2.60 

Twice  picked  of  weeds,      -  -       o.   2.6  0.60 

Harrowing  seed  and  rolling,  o.    1.9  0.45 

Weeding,  -  o.  4.0  i.oo 

Preparing  rushes  and  ropes,  o.   2.8  0.70 

Pulling,      ---.  0.8.02.00 

Seed,  one  barrel,  I.   5.0  6  25 

Rent  and  taxes,  2.  o  o         10.00 

Totals,         -  £5.11.11       $28.00 

The  cost  of  Flax  production  in  Illinois,  according  to  the  Report  of  the  Illinois  State 

Board  of  Agriculture,  in  various  counties,  is  as  follows  : 

Hamilton  Co.      Cook  Co.  Kane  Co. 

Use  of  land,  $2.00  $3.25  $  4.50 

Plowing,  0.75  1.50  1.30 

Harrowing,    -  0.25  0.25  0.25 

Planting,  0.40  o  25  0.30 

Seed,  0.60  1.35  i.oo 

Cutting,  0.50  0.60  0.50 

Stacking,  3.30  o  50  o  80 

Threshing,  i.oo  0.80  3  50 

Marketing,      -                                                                          -  0.15  0.60  1.25 

$  5.95  $  9.10         $13.10 


FLAX    C  ULTURK. 


I  have  given  the  highest,  the  lowest,  and  a  medium  calculation  of  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction in  this  state,  but  the  average  may  be  taken  as  $10.00  per  acre,  and  thus  it  will  be 
seen  that  even  doubling  this  amount,  in  order  to  make  up  for  additional  labor  and  larger 
outlay  for  sowing  seed,  we  are  still  much  below  the  lowest  rate  at  which  Flax  is  raised  in 
Europe,  while  the  cost  of  Flax  production  in  France  is  twice  as  high,  and  in  Holland  three 
times  as  high  as  ours.  We  are,  therefore,  undoubtedly,  in  the  most  favorable  position  to 
compete  with  any  country  in  the  world  and  need  no  "  protection  "  for  raising  Flax,  any 
more  than  for  growing  wheat,  corn,  cotton,  or  any  other  of  our  staple  crops.  All  that  is 
needed  is  to  imitate  our  European  competitors  in  the  care  they  bestow  on  the  Flax  crop  as 
suggested  in  the  following  pages  on  this  subject,  and  most  remunerative  harvests  will 
surelv  be  the  reward . 


KLAX  CULTURE. 


SOIL. 

Flax  culture  requires  very  careful  preparation  of  the  land  ;  deep  tillage  and  thorough 
pulverization  being  essential  to  success.  By  careful  attention  to  these  prime  requisites 
Flax  may  be  proritably  grown  on  almost  any  soil,  although  all  are  not  equally  adapted  to 
this  crop.  The  best  soil  is  considered  to  be  a  firm  sandy  loam  ;  or  a  dry  mellow  loam 
with  a  clay  subsoil,  but  this  must  not  be  too  compact,  and  by  all  means  it  should  be  well 
drained.  Flax  will  not  do  well  if  the  land  be  wet,  nor  upon  heavy  clay  soil  unless  thor- 
oughly underdrained,  well  pulverized  and  enriched  with  manure.  It  is  no  more  reasonable 
to  expect  to  raise  a  good  crop  of  Flax  from  a  poor,  wet,  half-cultivated  soil,  than  a  good 
crop  of  wheat. 

In  selecting  land  for  Flax  culture,  the  advantage  of  having  it  smooth  and  level  should  be 
considered.  Upon  hilly  land  the  crop  will  not  grow  evenly,  nor  can  it  be  readily  harvested 
with  a  mower  and  self-binder.  Peaty  soil  destitute  of  a  clay  bottom,  also  sandy  land  with  a 
gravelly  bottom,  should  be  avoided,  as  only  a  scanty  yield  and  inferior  fiber  can  be  expected 
from  a  crop  of  Flax  grown  under  such  unfavorable  conditions. 

The  finest  Flax  is  grown  in  Belgium,  notably  in  the  district  of  Courtray.  Regarding  the 
soil,  the  English  Agricultural  Gazette  says  :  "  It  is  not  to  the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil 
' '  that  the  fine  crops  in  Flanders  are  to  be  attributed,  as  a  very  brief  inspection  of  it  will 
"suffice  to  show.  We  have  before  us  a  sample  of  soil  taken  from  a  celebrated  Flax  dis- 
"  trict,  at  which  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  many  an  English  farmer  would  turn  up  his  nose 
' '  as  beneath  his  notice  and  unworthy  of  his  cultural  cares.  It  is  to  the  careful  working  of 
"  the  soil,  the  unstinted  supply  of  manure,  of  which  the  quality  and  mode  of  action  on  the 
"soil  and  plants  is  a  matter  of  careful  and  anxious  study  ;  to  an  equally  careful  attention  to 
*  *  the  quality  of  the  seed  and  the  properties  of  the  plant ;  and  last  but  not  least,  by  carrying 
"  out  a  well-considered  system  of  rotation,  that  the  Flemish  farmer  owes  his  success  in  Flax 
"  culture." 

The  above  paragraph  embodies  the  secret  of  successful  and  lucrative  Flax  culture,  and  I 
commend  the  hints  given  therein  to  the  serious  consideration  of  American  growers  of  Flax. 


ACREAGE    TO    SOW— ROTATION. 


ACREAGE  TO  SOW. 

The  next  point  to  consider,  and  an  important  one,  is  as  to  what  extent,  or  in  what  propor- 
tion the  farm  should  be  devoted  to  Flax  raising.  Of  course  this  cannot  hastily  be  deter- 
mined, nor  can  an  inflexible  rule  be  laid  down.  Much  depends  upon  the  farmer's  ability  to 
thoroughly  work  the  land,  and  keep  it  in  the  high  state  of  cultivation  which  is  really  the 
basis  of  successful  Flax  farming. 

There  Is  no  farm  crop  for  which  the  soil  needs  so  thorough  preparation  as  that  required 
for  Flax  ;  nor  is  there  any  crop  that  will  give  better  returns  for  the  cost  and  labor  of  fertiliz- 
ing and  pulverizing  the  soil,  and  keeping  it  clean  of  weeds. 

The  farmer,  therefore,  must  needs  count  the  cost  himself,  and  with  his  eyes  open  to  the 
necessities  of  the  case,  use  his  best  judgment  as  to  the  acreage  he  can  profitably  devote  to 
the  Flax  crop,  in  order  to  secure  the1  highest  yield  both  of  fiber  and  seed. 

ROTATION. 

Neglect  of  the  important  matter  of  rotation  has  been  to  a  great  degree  the  cause  of  the 
diminution  in  yield  per  acre,  and  consequently  of  disappointment  to  the  farmer  in  raising 
Flax.  This  crop  should  never  be  grown  successively  upon  the  same  field.  There  should  be 
an  interval  of  from  6  to  10  years  between  crops,  so  that  the  land  under  cultivation  may 
regularly  receive  back  from  the  different  manures  applied  a  portion  of  the  special  nutritive 
elements  of 'which  it  was  depleted  by  the  Flax,  and  after  the  interval  specified  be  enabled  to 
abundantly  feed  another  similar  crop  without  any  artificial  recuperation  of  the  soil. 

If,  before  sowing  Flax  again  in  the  same  field,  some  7  or  8  years  are  suffered  to  pass  by, 
it  is  reasonable  to  expect  a  good  crop  ;  but  the  shorter  the  interval  between  the  crops  the 
less  is  the  second  to  be  counted  on  for  a  fair  yield  either  of  seed  or  fiber. 

In  the  West  and  Northwest  Flax  is  frequently  sown  upon  sod  land,  and  although 
heavy  crops  are  generally  produced,  the  practice  is  to  be  discouraged.  One  objection  is  the 
difficulty  of  bringing  such  land  into  a  satisfactory  condition  of  tillage.  Another  is  the  dam- 
age to  be  apprehended  from  the  cut-worm,  which  attacks  Flax  as  well  as  other  grains  sown 
in  sod  land.  It  were  much  better  to  let  the  Flax  follow  potatoes  upon  such  land.  Too  fre- 
quently it  follows  wheat  or  oats,  grown  after  a  root  crop  the  previous  year,  which  only 
answers  where  the  condition  of  the  land  is  maintained  by  extra  manuring.  Flax  should 
never  follow  turnips  ;  it  has  been  shown  by  repeated  experiments  in  Europe  that  such  a 
rotation  is  sure  to  result  in  failure. 

The  diagram  given  below  will  show  at  a  glance  a  system  of  rotation  which  if  followed, 
allowing  for  the  necessary  modifications  to  adapt  it  to  different  farms,  will  maintain  the  land 
in  a  fertile  condition.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  crop  of  Flax  occupies  the  same  ground 
after  the  lapse  of  9  years  ;  also,  that  it  never  follows  turnips. 

The  system  commonly  known  as  the  four-course  rotation,  in  which  Flax  may  be  included, 
will  doubtless  keep  up  the  fertility  of  the  land,  but  instead  of  putting  all  the  land  into  wheat 
that  had  been  in  a  root  crop  the  previous  year,  it  would  be  preferable  to  make  a  division, 
and  sow  two-fifths  to  Flax,  and  three-fifths  to  wheat. 

What  would  really  re-invigorate  the  production  of  this  valuable  crop  would  be  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  acreage  allotted  to  wheat,  and  the  substitution  of  Flax. 


10 


FLAX    CULTURE 


DIAGRAM. 


YEARS. 

CROPS.                         YEAR. 

i 

2 

Turnips. 

Potatoes  or  Corn. 

ISt 

Wheat  or  Oats. 

Flax. 

3 

Clover 

or  Grass.                        2d 

4 

Rye,  Oats  or 

Barley.                  3d 

i 

Potatoes  or  Corn. 

Turnips. 

4th 

2 

Flax. 

Wheat  or  Oats. 

5th 

3 

Clover  or  Grass. 

6th 

~7^h~ 

4 

Rye,  Oats  or 

Barley. 

i 

2 

Turnips. 
Wheat  or  O 

Potatoes  or  Corn, 

8th 
9th 

ats. 

Flax. 

The  above  is  introduced  merely  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  judicious  rotation  of 
crops  under  cultivation.  It  is  assumed  that  a  portion  of  the  farm  is  undergoing  the  neces- 
sary renovation  by  lying  in  pasture  for  some  years.  No  arbitrary  rules  can  be  laid  down  for 
rotation.  The  intelligent  farmer  should  be  best  qualified  to  judge  of  the  proper  course  to 
follow  upon  his  own  farm,  the  peculiarities  of  which  he  is  fully  acquainted  with.  The  sug- 
gestions here  made,  however,  may  serve  to  guide  him  in  this  respect. 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  SOIL, 

Weeds  may  properly  be  regarded  as  the  worst  enemy  of  the  Flax  crop.  They  not  only 
appropriate  from  the  soil  much  of  the  nutrition  required  by  the  Flax  plants, — which  is  a 
great  injury  even  when  the  crop  is  raised  solely  for  the  seed — but  they  are  chiefly  injurious 
when  Flax  is  grown  for  the  fiber  for  the  reason  that  in  harvest-time  the  flax  stalks  get  so 
entangled  with  weeds  that  it  is  impossible  to  separate  them,  and  thus  the  value  of  the  straw 
is  seriously  impaired.  The  necessity  of  clean  culture,  therefore,  is  at  once  apparent. 

The  preparation  of  the  land  intended  for  Flax  must  be  governed  mainly  by  the  character 
of  the  soil.  A  light  plowing  immediately  after  harvest  is  essential  upon  all  soils  ;  but  if  the 
ground  be  heavy  and  stiff  it  should  be  laid  in  ridges  before  winter  sets  in,  and  so  remain 
until  some  two  or  three  weeks  before  sowing  time,  when  it  should  be  deeply  plowed.  Light 
soils  may  have  their  last  plowing  before  the  ground  is  frozen  up  for  the  Winter.  Medium 
soils  may  require  a  second  plowing,  which  should  not  be  done  less  than  a  month  previous 
to  sowing  ;  this  second  plowing  of  medium  and  heavy  land  should  be  shallow,  not  exceed- 
ing four  inches  in  depth.  The  soil  should  be  sufficiently  loosened  and  mellow  to  allow  the 
roots  to  penetrate  about  J^  as  far  into  the  ground  as  the  stem  reaches  above. 

Strong  soils,  and  such  as  are  coarse  and  wet,  are  usually  cross-plowed  before  Winter. 
Where  Flax  follows  clover  the  land  which  has  been  enriched  with  farm-yard  manure  or  peat 
ashes  receives  in  Autumn  a  like  quantity  of  the  same  manure,  which  is  covered  with  the 
plow  and  well  harrowed  to  make  the  soil  mellow.  In  Spring  a  vigorous  harrowing  is  given, 
and  the  seed  is  sown. 


MANURES.  11 


When  Flax  is  to  be  sown  in  potato  ground,  it  need  only  receive  one  shallow  plowing, 
say  4  inches  deep  ;  and  if  the  soil  be  light  this  should  not  be  done  until  a  month  or  six 
weeks  before  sowing  But  if  the  soil  be  heavy  it  would  be  beneficial  to  have  it  done  earlier 
so  as  to  expose  the  ground  to  the  pulverizing  action  of  frosts. 

When  seed-time  arrives,  should  such  weeds  as  dock,  sit-fast,  couch  grass,  etc. ,  appear, 
they  should  be  extirpated  previous  to  harrowing.  After  this  is  done  harrow  thoroughly — if 
in  ridges,  lengthwise  only  ;  if  level,  cross-harrow  also.  The  objection  to  cross-harrowing 
when  the  land  lies  in  ridges  is  that  it  drags  soil  into  the  furrows  and  leaves  a  loose  bed  for 
the  seed.  When  the  land  is  well  drained,  or  naturally  dry,  I  would  recommend  flat  cultiva-' 
tion,  by  which  more  even  growth  is  secured.  This  is  especially  important  when  Flax  is 
grown  for  the  fiber.  Where  there  are  furrows  in  the  field,  that  portion  growing  along  these 
depressions  will  not  be  as  strong  and  vigorous  as  the  rest  of  the  crop. 

It  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  that  the  important  thing  in  preparing  the  soil  is  to  have  a  jint, 
deep,  dry  and  clean  bed  for  the  reception  of  the  seed. 

Depth  of  tillage  is  a  matter  of  more  moment  in  Flax  cultivation  than  is  generally  sup- 
posed. In  sustaining  so  tall  a  stem,  and  providing  the  varied  elements  so  essential  to  the 
healthful  growth  of  the  plant,  the  roots  have  a  most  important  function  to  perform.  If 
given  opportunity  they  will  penetrate  the  soil  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  provide  bounti- 
fully the  nourishment  which  the  plants  require.  But  if  cramped  and  restricted  by  a  com- 
pacted, impenetrable  soil,  the  crop  will  plainly  show  that  it  is  half-starved.  The  Belgians 
say  that  Flax  has  roots  that  go  as  deep  into  the  soil  as  the  stem  grows  high  above  the  ground. 
The  soil  should  be  so  open  that  there  may  be  free  percolation  of  water,  the  roots  being 
very  fibrous  and  extending  both  laterally  and  vertically  to  a  considerable  distance. 

The  extent  to  which  the  soil  should  be  pulverized,  it  is  proper  to  state,  depends  greatly 
on  its  peculiarities.  On  light  and  medium  soils  excessive  pulverization  does  actual  injury. 
After  such  have  received  a  deep  plowing  in  Autumn,  and  when  necessary,  also,  a  shallow 
plowing  in  Winter,  a  moderate  harrowing  will  be  amply  sufficient  to  make  it  a  good  seed- 
bed at  sowing  time.  Pulverizing  such  soils  to  any  great  depth  renders  the  chance  of  a  good 
crop  of  Flax  extremely  doubtful,  unless,  indeed,  the  season  should  prove  an  exceptionally 
wet  one.  Heavy  land,  on  the  contrary,  will  bear  any  amount  of  pulverizing  ;  there  is  no 
danger  of  overdoing  it. 

MANURES. 

The  use  of  green  stable  manure  is  to  be  avoided,  principally  on  account  of  its  contain- 
ing weed  seeds  which  have  not  yet  germinated.  Ashes  from  the  burning  of  heaps  of  brush 
and  rubbish  are  highly  beneficial.  In  Belgium,  where  the  best  Flax  in  the  world  is  produced, 
preference  is  given  to  liquid  manure,  collected  mainly  from  the  cow  house  and  stables, 
which  is  allowed  to  ferment  in  cisterns  provided  for  the  purpose.  With  this  material  oil- 
cake is  mixed.  The  quantity  of  this  manure  varies  from  100  to  300  hectolitres  per  hectare, 
(which  is  equivalent  to  from  9  to  27  gallons  per  acre.)  Solid  manures  are  only  used  after 
being  thoroughly  composted  and  rotted.  It  is  also  of  importance  that  the  manure  be 
applied  evenly  to  the  land.  Whenever  the  manure  is  distributed  unevenly,  the  crop  exhibits 
irregular  patches  which  are  more  vigorous  than  the  average,  and  therefore  the  product 
is  of  unequal  length,  which  is  an  injury  to  the  fiber. 

One  method  of  avoiding  the  difficulty  is  to  apply  the  manure  in  liberal  quantities  to  the 
preceding  crop,  applying  none  to  the  land  the  season  of  the  Flax  crop.  Another  is  to  put 
on  the  manure  in  Autumn  or  Winter,  so  that  it  may  become  thoroughly  amalgamated  with 
the  earth  by  the  action  of  the  elements  previous  to  the  sowing. 

Commercial  fertilizers  have  the  advantage  of  being  free  from  seeds  of  worthless  and 
noxious  plants,  and  without  doubt,  can  be  used  on  Flax  with  profit  ;  but  this  class  of 


FLAX    CULTURE. 


manures  should  be  used  with  caution  and  with  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  constituents  of 
the  land  to  which  they  are  applied  as  well  as  of  the  fertilizer  itself.  The  prudent  farmer  will, 
so  far  as  practicable,  produce  upon  his  own  farm  the  manures  necessary  to  keep  up  its 
fertility. 

SEED. 

The  selection  of  seed  is  a  matter  which  is  entitled  to  special  consideration.  Great  care 
should  be  exercised  in  this  direction,  as  the  success  of  the  crop  depends  to  no  small  extent 
on  the  quality  of  the  seed. 

Flax  seed  is  considered  of  good  quality  when  it  is  bulky  and  heavy,  the  faces  of  each 
seed  being  equally  plump  and  convex ;  color  a  bright  brown,  uniform  ;  should  sink  in  water  ; 
be  easily  combustible,  burning  with  clearness  and  rapidity.  The  inside,  when  broken,  should 
be  of  a  light  yellowish-green  color,  should  have  a  sweet  taste  and  be  very  oily.  Good  seed, 
too,  is  very  even  in  its  quality,  and  free  from  all  mixture  with  other  seeds,  especially  of 
weeds. 

Only  fresh  seed  is  suitable  for  sowing.  If  it  is  more  than  two  years  old,  it  should 
always  be  tested  as  to  germinating  power  before  regarding  it  as  wholly  reliable.  This  may 
be  done  in  the  following  manner  :  Place  a  few  grains  of  seed  upon  flannel  cloth  stretched 
out  smoothly,  and  kept  moist,  in  a  warm  room.  If  the  seed  germinates  uniformly  in  about 
twenty-four  hours,  it  may  be  depended  on  as  good  ;  if,  however,  the  germination  is  delayed 
several  days,  taking  place  unequally  as  to  time,  the  seed  should  be  rejected  as  unfit  to  sow. 

Another  method  of  testing  the  vitality  of  Flax  seed  is  given  by  Mr.  Todd,  the  writer  of 
a  recent  prize  essay:  "To  test  Flax  seed  select  a  few  grains  and  sprinkle  them 
"between  two  thin  pieces  of  sod  laid  earth  sides  together,  and  put  them  on  a  shelf  in  the 
"  kitchen  where  they  must  be  kept;  warm,  and  not  allowed  to  dry.  In  a  few  days  every 
' '  seed  that  has  not  lost  its  vitality  will  germinate.  Then  by  counting  them  we  readily 
"  ascertain  what  proportion  is  good." 

Care  should  also  be  taken  to  clean  the  seed  of  all  weed  seeds,  and  other  impurities  which 
will  otherwise  infest  the  land,  and  cost  much  labor  and  expense  in  weeding  them  out  if  ever 
got  rid  of.  The  cleaning  may  be  effected  by  a  wire  sieve,  twelve  meshes  to  the  inch,  cost- 
ing about  seventy-five  cents. 

Right  here  let  me  say,  that  none  but  the  very  best  and  purest  seed  should  be  procured  for 
sowing.  It  is  a  false  economy  and  most  wretched  management  unworthy  the  intelligent 
farmer  of  the  present  period,  to  buy  low-priced  seed  in  order  to  save  a  few  dollars,  thereby 
running  the  certain  risk 'of  getting  a  crop  which  will  barely  cover  the  cost  of  production. 

So  far  we  have  considered  only  the  general  characteristics  of  good  seed,  and  ways  of 
testing  its  vitality.  But  it  is  necessary  to  go  much  farther  than  this.  It  has  become  a 
question  of  vital  importance  whether  our  American  grown  seed  must  not,  after  all,  be 
replaced  by  a  foreign  product,  which  shall  yield  far  better  results  than  have  of  late  years 
been  obtained  in  this  country. 

Hitherto,  Flax  has  been  grown  in  the  states  west  of  Pennsylvania  chiefly,  if  not  exclu- 
sively, for  the  seed.  Naturally  it  might  be  expected  that  the  yield  would  be  abundant  and 
certainly  give  a  moderate  profit  above  the  cost  of  production.  But  such  has  not  been  the 
fact.  Fifteen  years  ago  the  yield  of  the  Flax  crop  was  from  12  to  15  bushels  of  seed 
per  acre,  while  at  the  present  time  it  is  from  5  to  10  bushels,  giving  an  average  of 
7  to  8  bushels  per  acre,  or  only  50  per  cent,  of  the  former  yield.  The  causes  of  this  extra- 
ordinary decline  are  not  difficult  to  discover.  They  are  to  be  found  (i)  in  careless  and 
improper  cultivation,  and  (2)  in  the  very  inferior  quality  of  the  seed  sown,  the  great  bulk  of 
which  is  entirely  unfit  for  the  purpose  of  reproduction. 


SEED.  13 


While  the  first  of  these  causes  can  be  removed  through  more  careful  husbandry,  the 
second  demands,  imperatively,  a  total  renewal  of  seed  for  sowing.  Flax  seed  has  become 
completely  degenerated.  Since  its  first  introduction  into  the  United  States  it  has  never  been 
renewed,  save,  perhaps,  in  a  few  localities  to  a  limited  extent,  and  the  result  of  long  con- 
tinued careless  culture  is  seen  in  the  present  diminished  yield  which  is  so  exceedingly 
unsatisfactory  and  mortifying  to  every  intelligent  American  farmer  cognizant  of  the  facts. 

Nor  is  it  alone  in  quantity  of  seed  produced  that  the  degeneracy  in  Flax  culture  in 
America  is  exhibited.  The  oil-producing  quality  of  the  seed  has  also  declined  to  a  very 
serious  extent.  Oil  crushers  assert  that  Western  seed  produces  one-third  less  oil  than 
that  imported  from  Bombay  and  Calcutta,  and  hence  its  price  is  only  about  one -half  of  that 
paid  for  seed  imported  from  British  India. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  rehabilitate  Flax  culture  in  this  country,  bringing  it  up  again  to 
the  state  from  which  it  has  fallen,  both  as  regards  its  yield  per  acre  and  its  oil-producing 
quality,  so  that  it  may  successfully  compete  with  the  foreign  product,  placing  it  on  a  par  as 
regards  its  market  value,  it  has  become  indispensable  to  sow  entirely  new  seed  which  has 
been  grown  in  a  wholly  different  soil,  and  with  special  reference  to  this  object. 

Of  the  foreign  seeds  which  have  stood  the  test  of  many  years  experience,  and  have 
given  the  most  satisfactory  results,  the  Dutch  and  Russian  seeds  stand  pre-eminent.  In 
those  European  countries  where  Flax  raising  has  been  a  chief  industry  from  time  immemorial, 
ajid  where  it  has  been  brought  to  a  high  state  of  perfection,  notably  in  Ireland,  Belgium, 
Holland,  Germany  and  France,  fresh  seed  is  annually  imported  from  those  countries  which 
produce  the  best  seed  for  the  purpose.  Ireland,  for  example,  imports  every  year  the  entire 
quantity  required  for  sowing,  from  Russia  and  Holland.  The  total  quantity  imported  in 
1880  and  1 88 1,  respectively,  was  311,861  bushels,  and  the  total  acreage  appropriated  to 
Flax  in  the  years  named  was  157,534  and  147,085  acres  respectively,  thus  allowing  about 
two  bushels  of  seed  per  acre. 

Holland,  whose  seed  is  highly  esteemed  for  its  superior  quality  and  great  purity,  likewise 
imports  her  sowing  seed  from  Russia  and  sells  her  own  seed  at  remunerative  prices  to  her 
neighbors.  Belgium,  France  and  Germany  annually  import  Dutch  and  Russian  seed  for 
sowing.  Thus  a  regular  and  constant  interchange  is  taking  place  in  those  countries. 
Experience  has  demonstrated  that  by  this  means  the  best  crops  are  oroduced  both  in  respect 
to  seed  and  fiber. 

It  is  therefore  a  matter  of  vital  importance,  especially  in  the  western  states;  that  there 
should  be  a  radical  change  inaugurated  in  the  character  of  the  Flax  seed  used  for  sowing  in 
this  country.  This  cannot  be  done  too  soon.  Thus  only  can  Flax  culture  be  reclaimed 
from  the  lamentable  state  of  degeneracy  into  which  it  has  fallen. 

The  present  mode  of  cultivating  Flax  for  the  seed  only  is  greatly  to  be  deprecated,  and 
I  would  commend  the  following  extract  from  the  words  of  a  competent  writer  on  this 
subject,  to  the  serious  consideration  of  all  who  are  interested  in  Flax  cultivation. 

"  The  pursuit  of  the  crop  for  the  seed  only,  will  never  secure  the  firm  establishment  of 
"  Flax  culture.  The  additional  inducement  of  a  production  of  the  valuable  fiber  is  neces- 
"sarytomake  Flax  culture  a  leading  farm  interest.  Crops  of  Flax  seed  may  be  grown 
"with  poor  cultivation  and  scanty  sowing  when  the  straw  will  be  worthless  from  its  coarse- 
"  ness,  and  the  weakness  of  the  lint,  and  from  the  admixture  of  grass  and  weeds.  To  ob- 
"  tain  Flax  of  the  highest  value  for  the  seed  only  it  is  essential  that  the  cultivation  be  con- 
"ducted  with  special  reference  to  the  production  of  the  largest  yield  of  good  fiber  in  the 
"  straw.  This  conclusion  is  justified  by  the  fact  that  the  average  product  of  Flax  seed  per 
"acre  in  those  districts  in  the  Eastern  states  where  Flax  is  grown  more  especially  for  the 
"lint,  is  greater  than  at  the  West  where  the  seed  only  has  been  the  object  of  cultivation, 


14  FLAX    CULTURE 


' '  while  at  the  same  time  the  quality  of  the  Eastern  seed  is  superior.  The  carelessness  of 
"  management  attendant  upon  growing  this  crop  for  the  seed,  in  connection  with  thin  sow 
' '  ing,  tends  to  deteriorate  the  quality  of  the  Flax  seed  for  oil  making,  as  well  as  for  the 
"production  of  lint." 

The  foregoing,  although  written  twenty  years  ago,  is  applicable  even  with  greater 
emphasis,  to  the  present  state  of  Flax  culture  in  the  West,  than  at  the  time  it  was  written, 
and  the  conclusions  drawn  by  the  writer  are  proved  to  be  literally  correct,  and  justified  by 
facts  easily  verified  by  any  one  who  is  interested  to  examine  the  statistics. 

It  is  important  that  the  misconception  so  widely  prevalent,  that  seed  must  be  sown 
thinly  when  Flax  is  grown  especially  for  its  seed  product,  should  be  removed.  Let  it  be 
fully  understood  that  it  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  neglect  the  liber  in  order  to  obtain  the 
largest  yield  of  seed,  and  this  of  good  quality. 

It  only  requires  careful  and  intelligent  culture  to  place  the  Flax  crop  upon  a  satisfactory 
basis,  and  render  it  in  the  near  future  one  of  the  most  remunerative  of  all  farm  crops. 

HOW  TO  SOW. 

After  the  land  has  been  carefully  prepared,  (according  to  the  hints  already  given  in  this 
paper,)  and  after  removing  all  the  stones  (except  the  small  ones  which  will  do  no  harm)  it 
would  be  well  to  give  it  a  final  harrowing  and  rolling  before  putting  in  the  seed.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  is  to  have  the  surface  of  the  ground  as  smooth  and  level  as  it  can  be  made,  so 
that  the  Flax  may  get  an  even  start,  and  grow  uniformly,  in  order  that  harvesting  may  be 
facilitated  (if  a  Mower  and  Self-binder  is  employed),  and  also  to  secure  the  greatest  length 
of  straw  possible  by  cutting  low  to  the  ground. 

If  the  sowing  is  upon  an  uneven  surface,  where  there  are  lumps,  clods,  furrows  and 
holes,  much  of  the  seed  will  be  covered  too  deeply,  and  consequently  the  growth  of  the 
straw  will  not  be  uniform,  nor  will  the  seed  mature  at  the  same  time.  If  there  are  no 
lumps,  however,  the  roller  need  not  be  used.  But  the  ground  should  be  gone  over  with  a 
harrow  having  numerous  small  teeth.  Where  the  soil  has  been  cultivated  as  it  should  be 
for  the  preceding  crop  of  Indian  corn,  potatoes  or  barley,  the  surface  will  be  as  mellow  and 
free  from  lumps  as  a  neatly  prepared  carrot  bed.  On  such  soils,  with  selected  seed,  Flax 
will  grow  from  3  to  4  feet  in  length,  the  seed  will  be  of  superior  quality,  and  the  lint  will  be 
heavy  and  of  good  length. 

Sow  on  the  rolled  surface,  and  while  it  is  still  fresh,  because  Flax,  like  other  seed,  will 
more  quickly  germinate  under  such  conditions  than  if  put  into  soil  that  has  lain  undisturbed 
for  a  number  of  days.  The  soil  should  not  be  at  all  adhesive  or  sticky  when  the  sowing  is 
done.  A  favorable  time  is  when  the  weather  is  calm  and  dry,  if  shortly  after  a  shower  all 
the  better,  when  the  lumps  of  dirt  will  crumble  at  a  very  slight  touch,  and  the  entire  surface 
is  friable  and  mellow.  Then  the  seed,  germinating  in  a  few  days,  will  get  the  start  of 
weeds,  and  easily  keep  the  ascendancy  throughout  the  period  of  growth.  By  this  means 
much  weeding  will  be  saved,  the  fiber  be  more  abundant,  the  seed  of  better  quality,  and  the 
yield  of  both  products  be  greater. 

As  Flax  seed  is  much  more  difficult  to  sow  than  most  other  kinds  of  seed  on  account  of 
being  so  very  slippery,  it  is  very  important  that,  if  the  sowing  be  done  by  hand,  an  expe- 
rienced sower  should  be  employed.  It  is  of  prime  importance  that  the  seed  be  sown  evenly, 
and  doubtless  this  can  be  accomplished  more  readily  and  surely  by  the  use  of  a  "  Broadcast 
Seed  Sower,"  one  of  the  inventions  of  late  years,*  which  will  ensure  more  even  sowing  than 

*  "  Cakoon's  Broadcast  Seed  So-wer  "  is  especially  recommended  for  this  purpose.  Price  $6.00.  For 
sale  by  Hiram  Sibley  &  Co. 


COVERING  SEED— WHEN  TO  SOW.  15 


can  be  done  by  hand.  Another  advantage  offered  by  these  implements  is  the  large  acreage 
which  can  be  sown  in  a  short  time.  -  The  saving  in  labor  thus  secured  is  very  large,  and 
there  is  a  material  saving  also  in  the  quantity  of  seed  required.  When,  however,  hand  sow- 
ing is  to  be  employed,  especial  care  should  be  taken  to  sow  as  evenly  as  possible,  the  sower 
proceeding  with  a  regular  step,  taking  small  tight  handfuls,  and  casting  the  seed  with 
regular  throws  high  and  fearlessly,  allowing  each  cast  to  slightly  overlap  the  preceding  one. 
If  not  careful  the  slipper)'  seed  will  escape  in  the  backward  swing  of  the  hand,  and  thus  not 
only  waste,  but  render  the  seeding  irregular.  Some  cultivators  advise  soaking  the  seed  in 
tepid  water  for  two  or  three  days,  and  then  rolling  same  in  gypsum  or  plaster.  This  reme- 
dies the  slipperiness,  and  the  gypsum  is  beneficial  in  effect  upon  the  germinating  seed. 

It  may  be  suggested  that  if  the  farmer  intends  sowing  a  large  acreage  to  Flax,  it  will  be 
well  not  to  do  all  the  sowing  at  one  time,  but  at  an  interval  of  a  week  or  ten  days,  in  order 
that  time  should  be  given  to  harvest  before  part  of  it  gets  over-ripe. 

COVERING  SEED, 

The  seed  should  not  be  covered  too  deeply.  One  inch  of  soil  is  sufficient,  and  it  should 
be  as  uniformly  of  this  depth  as  possible.  Therefore,  a  light,  fine-tooth  harrow,  is  best 
adapted  to  this  work.  Some  very  careful  cultivators  do  not  allow  a  team  of  any  kind  to  be 
driven  over  the  land  after  the  seed  has  been  put  in,  but  draw  a  brush  harrow,  by  hand,  over 
the  soil,  regarding  this  the  preferable  wa--  of  covering  the  seed.  Such  a  harrow  can  readily 
be  made  by  inserting  the  butt  ends  of  brush  (small  branches  of  trees)  about  two  feet  long  in 
holes  bored  in  a  piece  of  scantling,  which  should  be  about  five  feet  in  length,  To  this 
scantling  shafts  or  handles  may  be  fitted,  so  that  the  narrow  can  be  drawn  by  a  man  or  boy. 
With  this  "harrow"  several  acres  can  b^  "brushed  in"  in  a  day.  It  would  be  well  to 
also  cross-harrow  the  land  with  this  brush  so  that  no  ridges  be  left,  and  the  land  may  lie 
uniformly  smooth.  The  effectiveness  of  such  a  brush  harrow  may  be  increased  by  adding  to 
its  weight  a  few  billets  of  wood  fastened  to  the  scantling  which  holds  the  brush  in  place. 
Rude  as  is  this  novel  implement,  it  will  be  found  most  competent  for  the  purpose  of  prop- 
erly covering  the  seed.  Where  the  acreage  is  large,  however,  a  light  harrow  drawn  by 
horses  will  of  course  be  the  most  practicable. 

WHEN  TO  SOW, 

Owing  to  the  wide  range  of  climate  in  which  Flax  is  (or  may  be)  cultivated  in  the  United 
States,  no  invariable  rule  can  be  given,  much  depending  on  the  peculiarities  of  the  season  as 
well  as  geographical  position. 

As  a  matter  of  course  Flax  may  be  sown  much  earlier  in  Missouri  or  Kentucky  than  in 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin  or  Dakota,  for  there  would  be  much  less  risk  in  the  section  first  men- 
tioned of  late  Spring  frosts,  which  frequently  do  serious  injury  to  the  tender  plant,  causing 
it  to  branch,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  crop.  The  Flax  grower  is  therefore  to  be  guided 
by  his  own  experience  and  observation  in  his  own  section  as  to  the  right  time  for  seeding. 
A  few  suggestions,  however,  may  be  of  service  in  determining  the  point.  Sow  after  tie 
soil  has  become  settled  and  thoroughly  wanned  by  the  influence  of  the  sun,  when  weeds  and 
grass  have  well  started,  and  the  trees  begin  to  unfold  their  leaves.  If  sown  too  early 
much  of  the  Flax  is  liable  to  be  stunted  ;  late  frosts  will  injure  it  more  or  less,  and  weeds 
are  sure  to  get  the  start  of  the  plants  unless  extra  pains  have  been  taken  in  clearing  the  soil 
of  their  roots  beforehand.  In  the  middle  wheat  belt  of  the  United  States  the  average  time 
of  sowing  is  from  the  i§th  to  the  2Oth  of  April,  in  ordinary  seasons,  and  in  favorable 
weather. 


16  FLAX     CULTURE. 


HOW  MUCH  TO  SOW. 

The  quantity  of  seed  will  depend  on  the  object  for  which  it  is  sown,  the  quality  of  seed, 
and  its  kind.  Of  foreign  seeds  the  Dutch  produces  a  finer  fiber  than  Russian,  but  it  is  also 
affected  by  the  quantity  sown.  A  finer  fiber  is  produced  when  thickly  sown  than  if  the 
sowing  be  thin.  The  effect  of  this  sowing  is  that  the  plants  not  being  crowded  branch 
freely,  and  produce  a  greater  quantity  of  flowers  and  seed  to  each  individual  plant  than 
when  growing  closer  together.  The  yield  per  plant  is  unquestionably  greater  for  thin 
sowing,  but  the  product  per  acre  is  the  important  thing,  especially  when  the  quality  is  con- 
sidered, and  also  the  largely  increased  quantity  and  value  of  the  fiber. 

Our  Western  farmers  who  have  been  growing  the  crop,  hitherto,  exclusively  for  the  seed, 
sow  but  y^  bushel  or  at  most  3^  bushel  per  acre;  but  in  the  eastern  states,  on  poorer  soils, 
where  the  farmers  desire  to  secure  crops  both  of  seed  and  fiber,  it  is  found  that  they  obtain 
a  much  larger  amount  of  seed  per  acre  than  the  average  ip  the  West,  and  this,  too,  of 
superior  quality. 

In  Europe  two  bushels  is  an  average  allotment  for  seeding  an  acre,  producing  a  fine 
lint,  and  after  harvesting  from  the  crop  20  bushels  of  seed.  It  has  been  found  that  in 
the  thoroughly  cultivated  and  highly  manured  fields  of  the  Flax  region  of  Belgium,  the 
largest  quantities  of  seed — often  as  much  as  3^  bushels  to  the  acre — are  sown  with  the 
best  results.  In  that  country,  as  also  in  France,  it  is  a  common  practice  to  sell  the  crop 
standing  in  the  field  before  harvesting,  to  the  "Linier"  or  Flaxman,  who  relieves  the 
farmer  of  its  further  care  when  it  has  matured. 

I  would,  therefore,  recommend  that  even  where  the  production  of  seed  is  the  only  object 
of  cultivation,  at  least  one  bushel  be  sown  per  acre.  This  would  tend  toward  the  improve- 
ment of  Flax  culture  in  the  United  States,  especially  in  the  West,  and  the  results  would  be 
immediately  beneficial. 

WEEDING, 

Whatever  weeding  may  be  found  necessary  after  the  crop  has  come  up,  should  be  done 
with  as  little  treading  upon  the  tender  plants  as  possible.  It  is  important  that  this  be 
attended  to  when  the  soil  is  not  too  dry,  as  there  is  risk  of  disturbing  the  roots  to  their 
injury.  It  were  better  to  leave  the  crop  altogether  un weeded,  unless  it  can  be  done  when 
the  ground  is  moist. 

WHEN  TO    HARVEST, 

When  the  lower  part  of  the  stems  begin  to  turn  yellow,  and  the  leaves  fall  off  8  or  10 
inches  from  the  ground  ;  when  the  seed  capsules  are  formed  and  the  seeds  begin  to  change 
in  color  from  green  to  pale  brown  ;  then  is  the  proper  time  for  harvesting  the  crop. 

Discriminating  judgment  is  required  that  no  mistake  be  made  on  this  point.  If  harvested 
prematurely  the  fiber  will  be  weak,  and  there  will  be  loss  both  in  quality  and  quantity.  If 
the  Flax  be  left  standing  until  the  seed  be  fully  ripe  the  fiber  will  be  coarse,  brittle  and 
diminished  in  quantity.  As  for  the  seed,  experience  has  amply  demonstrated  that  most  seeds, 
though  not  quite  mature  when  gathered,  ripen  fully  afterwards  provided  they  are  not 
separated  (until  completely  dry)  from  the  plant,  in  which  the  sap  still  contributes  to  the 
further  nourishment  and  perfecting  of  the  seed. 

If  in  sowing  the  crop  the  acreage  has  been  divided  by  an  interval  of  several  days,  as 
has  been  recommended,  harvesting  in  good  condition  will  be  easily  accomplished,  as  that 
portion  which  ripens  first  may  be  taken  care  of  before  the  balance  of  the  crop  has  matured, 
and  so  no  part  of  it  will  be  over-ripe. 


HOW  TO   HARVEST— DISPOSITION  OF  THE  CROP.  17 


HOW  TO  HARVEST. 

Harvesters  (with  Twine  binders)  have  now  come  into  general  use  in  this  country,  and 
may  be  so  adjusted  as  to  cut  the  Flax  quite  close  to  the  ground.  This  should  be  done  in 
order  to  secure  the  largest  quantity  of  fiber,  a  matter  which  has  hitherto  failed  to  receive  the 
consideration  its  importance  demands — at  least  in  the  West. 

Pulling  the  Flax,  as  is  the  mode  in  European  countries,  is  in  this  country  out  of  the 
question,  both  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  labor,  and  the  large  acreage  sown.  But  our 
harvesting  machinery  has  been  brought  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection,  and  does  the  work 
of  cutting  very  satisfactorily,  and  at  the  same  time  binds  the  Flax  in  convenient  sheaves  or 
bundles  ready  to  be  stocked  for  drying  thoroughly  before  removal  from  the  field. 

I 

DISPOSITION  OF  THE  CROP. 

We  now  come  to  the  most  vital  question  of  all,  as  regards  the  Flax  interest  in  the 
United  States.  WThat  shall  the  farmer,  having  harvested  his  Flax  crop,  do  with  it  ?  If  he 
can  only  thresh  it  out  with  the  ordinary  threshing  machine,  by  which  the  fiber  is  torn  into 
small  shreds,  and  thereby  rendered  unfit  for  the  best  manufacturing  purposes,  he  suffers 
great  loss.  The  value  of  the  fiber  is  reduced  from  $20.00  and  upwards,  to  about  $3.00  or 
$4.00  per  ton,  being  only  fit  for  making  coarse  bagging,  twines,  upholstery  tow,  etc.  Wrhat 
better  can  he  do  ?  Perhaps  some  would  answer  :  Let  him  put  his  fiber  into  merchantable 
shape,  by  first  "rippling"  (or  removing  the  seed),  then  "retting,"  "scutching,"  etc. 
But  this  is  wholly  impracticable.  The  farmer  is  a  producer,  not  a  manufacturer.  He 
should  not  be  burdened  with  the  various  complicated  manipulations  necessary  to  prepare  the 
Flax  fiber  for  market.  Hitherto  this  apparent  necessity  has  been  a  chief  obstacle  to  the 
development  of  the  Flax  industry  of  the  western  states,  and  the  indirect  consequence  has 
been  the  absolute  waste  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons,  annually,  of  this  valuable  raw 
material.  It  is  patent  to  every  intelligent  mind  that  the  Flax  grower  has  no  time  to  devote 
to  even  crude  and  preliminary  manufacturing  operations,  even  if  he  had  the  special 
knowledge  requisite.* 

What  is  imperatively  needed,  then,  is  a  system  by  which  the  labor  connected  with  the 
Flax  industry  be  divided.  On  account  of  the  high  price  of  labor  in  this  country,  the  pre- 
paration of  Flax  fiber  requires  the  employment  of  expensive  machinery,  and  the  erection  of 

*The  following  extract  from  a  letter  published  in  the  IRISH  FARMERS'  GAZETTE,  contributed  by  an  intelli- 
gent writer  from  the  vicinity  of  Belfast,  which  is  the  great  center  of  the  Flax  and  linen  industry,  points 
out  the  disadvantages  of  the  system  hitherto  followed  in  Ireland  and  elsewhere,  and  advocates  a  radical 
reform  : 

u  The  present  system  of  retting  and  scutching  Flax  is  not  at  all  what  it  should  be.  I  do  not  suppose 
there  has  been  any  improvement  in  either  department  for  the  last  30  or  40  years — the  same  slovenly  routine 
year  after  year ;  good  Flax  straw  spoiled  from  being  steeped  too  much  or  too  little,  or  from  being  left  too 
long  on  the  grass  ;  then  when  brought  to  the  scutch-mill  it  is  hurried  through,  because  scutchers  are  paid 
by  the  stone,  and,  of  course,  the  more  they  can  do  in  the  day  the  better  for  them.  The  farmers  are  per- 
suaded that  the  better  the  yield  from  the  scutch-mill  the  more  profitable  for  them,  while  the  fact  is  that  in 
a  valuable  fiber  like  Flax  the  more  carefully  it  is  handled  and  the  cleaner  it  is  left  the  better  it  will  pay  the 
owner.  *****  The  system,  in  my  opinion,  is  altogether  wrong. 

41  farmers  should  only  be  required  to  grow  Flax  and  should  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  steeping  of 
it.  That  is  a  delicate  process,  requiring  a  practical  scientific  knowledge  and  careful  attention  which  could 
not  be  expected  from  farmers  generally. 

"  In  Ireland  we  can  raise  Flax  straw  quite  equal  to  that  grown  on  the  Continent,  which  brings  15  to  20  per 
cent,  more  than  ours,  but  where  we  fail  is  in  the  steeping  and  preparation.  I  believe  the  Irish  Flax  trade 
will  never  be  satisfactory  till  the  Flax  can  be  bought  from  the  grower  and  the  retting  and  scutching 
carried  on  the  year  round.  It  would  almost  revolutionize  the  linen  trade  in  Ireland,  We  would 
have  Flax  prepared  for  sale  with  a  regularity  in  color  and  quality  unattainable  now," 


38  FLAX    CULTURE 


factories  or  Flax  mills.  The  Flax,  including  the  seed,  should  be  purchased  from  the  farmer 
by  the  mill  which  prepares  the  fiber  for  market.  This  should  be  equipped  with  the  best 
machinery  and  provided  with  a  force  of  competent  operatives,  trained  to  the  work  and  fully 
acquainted  with  the  most  approved  methods  of  retting,  etc. 

By  such  a  system  the  cultivation  of  Flax  can  be  made  a  leading  and  remunerative  branch 
of  American  agriculture,  and  at  no  distant  period  there  would  be  in  successful  operation  all 
over  the  country  (especially  in  the  western  states)  large  industrial  establishments  for  spin- 
ning and  weaving  the  Flax  fiber  in  the  manufacture  of  linen  fabrics,  thereby  effecting  a 
saving  of  over  $25,000,000,  which  we  now  annually  send  abroad  for  this  description  of 
merchandise,  to  enrich  foreign  nations. 

No  country  in  the  world  is  in  a  position  to  rival  the  United  States  in  respect  to  climate, 
soil,  and  many  other  advantages  which  enable  us  to  compete  in  Flax  production  with  the 
most  favored  nations,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  Flax  products  should  not  become,  within 
a  comparatively  brief  period,  one  of  our  most  important  articles  of  export.  All  we  have  to 
do  in  the  attainment  of  this  desirable  end,  is  to  abandon  the  present  slovenly  system  of  Flax 
husbandry,  and  adopt  the  careful  and  pains-taking  methods  of  cultivation  of  our  European 
competitors.  The  introduction  of  a  system  comprehending  the  erection  of  Flax  mills  in  the 
principal  Flax  growing  centers  would  be  a  powerful  stimulus  to  farmers  to  improve  their 
present  mode  of  culture  in  order  to  obtain  remunerative  prices  for  their  Flax  crop,  and 
encourage  them  to  devote  to  it  the  care  and  attention  it  so  richly  deserves. 


IS  FLAX  AN    EXHAUSTIVE   CROP  ? 

The  objection  is  frequently  urged  against  the  cultivation  of  Flax  that  "it  is  an  exhaust- 
ive crop."  Of  course  it  is  true  that  Flax  exhausts  the  soil  that  feeds  it  to  some  extent,  so  also 
does  almost  every  other  crop.  But  that  it  is  more  so  than  others  is  a  statement  not  sup- 
ported by  the  facts  ;  in  reality,  it  is  much  less  exhaustive  than  most  of  our  other  staple 
crops,  as  I  shall  show  by  the  testimony  of  competent  judges. 

Sir  Robert  Kane,  of  the  Dublin  Royal  Academy,  says  :  ' '  Every  farmer  is  aware  that 
crops  exhaust  the  soil ;  that  the  plants  take  out  of  the  ground  a  number  of  materials,  and 
that  it  is  necessary  to  restore  similar  materials  to  the  soil,  in  order  to  keep  up  its  fertility  ; 
therefore,  the  manure  which  the  farmer  puts  in  with  or  before  his  seed,  is  in  a  degree  the 
raw  material  of  which  the  crop  is  made.  It  is  just  as  much  a  part  of  the  plant  as  the  seed 
itself.  When  the  farmer  sells  and  sends  away  his  grown  crop  to  be  used  for  food,  as  in  the 
case  of  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes,  he  thereby  sends  away  and  sells  the  essence  of  the 
manure  which  he  had  put  into  the  ground  ;  and  as  he  thus  gets  paid  for  the  manure  which 
he  has  exhausted,  he  must  put  in  as  much  more  for  the  next  crop,  which  is  to  be  dealt  with 
in  the  same  way.  Now,  in  the  case  of  Flax,  there  is  the  important  peculiarity  that  it  is  not 
eaten,  and  hence  does  not  return  to  the  land  any  manure  in  the  ordinary  way,  while  it  takes 
out  of  the  soil  just  the  same  materials  as  oats  and  potatoes  (though  not  by  any  means  the 
same  quantity),  so  that  it  is  indeed  quite  an  exhaustive  crop  if  we  look  only  to  the  growing 
of  it.  But  the  Flax  differs  from  other  crops  in  this,  that  the  value  of  oats  or  potatoes,  and 
all  food  crops  depend  upon  what  they  take  out  of  the  ground,  whilst  the  valuable  part  of  the 
Flax  is  the  fine  fiber  or  thread,  which  has  taken  nothing  out  of  the  ground. 

If  you  burn  a  bundle  of  Flax  stalks  it  will  leave  behind  a  large  quantity  of  white  ashes, 
which  consist  of  the  different  substances  which  the  plant  took  out  of  the  ground  ;  but  if 
you  burn  a  bundle  of  well-dressed  Flax  it  will  leave  no  ashes.  Their  substance  has  been 
carried  off  with  the  waste  part  of  the  plant  in  the  steeping  and  scutching.  This  is  thrown 
away,  and  yet  they  are  materials  which  the  plant  has  appropriated  from  the  soil,  and  which 
should  be  given  back  to  the  land  in  order  to  keep  up  its  fertility. 


COMPOSITION    OF    PLANTS. 


19 


To  the  practical  farmer  it  is,  therefore,  of  the  greatest  importance  to  recollect  this 
principle,  that  the  fiber  or  valuable  part  of  the  Flax  is  not  formed  by  exhaustion  of  the  soil, 
but  the  materials  which  the  Flax  plant  takes  out  of  the  land  are  all  found  in  the  steep- 
water  and  the  chaff  ;  and  that  if  these  be  returned  to  the  earth  they  will  restore  its  fertility, 
and  that  thus  the  Flax  crop  may  be  rendered  one  of  the  least  injurious  to  the  ground,  and 
most  remunerative  to  the  farmer." 


COMPOSITION  OF  PLANTS. 

Following  are  analyses,  made  by  Sprengel  and  Sir  Robert  Kane,  of  both  Flax  seed  and 
the  entire  Flax  plant,  showing  the  relative  quantities  of  inorganic  matter  contained  in  100 
parts  of  their  ashes  : 


KM  IKK 
FLAX    PLANT. 

FLAX  SEED. 

Potash  

II      78 

17.  5Q 

Soda 

II      82 

x/oy 
6  02 

Lime             

14.   8^ 

8  46 

Magnesia  

qa8 

14..  8-; 

Alumina  and  Oxide  of  Iron  

7.32 

1  .2«5 

Phosphoric  Acid  

1*1     QC 

^6   4.2 

Sulphuric  Acid 

3IO 

2J.7 

Chlorine  .                . 

2    QO 

O    17 

Silica  ..                     . 

25    71 

10  c.8 

Totals 

IOO  OO 

08  60 

Assuming  the  yield  of  an  acre  to  be  two  tons  of  straw  and  ten  bushels  of  seed,  each 
bushel  weighing  56  Ibs.,  the   quantity  of  inorganic  matter  abstracted  from  the  soil  will  be  : 
In  the  Seed  .............................................  13^  Ibs. 

In  the  Straw  ............................................  65*4;  Ibs. 


Total 


Ibs. 


Prof.  Hodges,  Queen's  College,  Belfast,  who  has  devoted  much  time  to  study  of  the  Flax 
plant,  writes  that  "it  is  an  exhausting  crop  (like  every  other  plant  that  is  cultivated  for  food, 
"or  for  its  utility  in  the  manufacture  of  clothing,  or,  indeed,  iike  every  weed  that  springs  up 
"  along  the  highway),  in  that  it  takes  certain  matters  from  the  soil.  When  only  part  of  the 
"  plant,  like  wheat,  for  instance,  is  sent  to  market,  it  is  clear  that  only  a  part  of  the  matters 
"  of  the  soil  is  lost  to  the  farm,  and  therefore  its  exhaustion  is  delayed." 

But  he  claims  that  Flax  is  not  as  exhaustive  as  some  other  crops,  and  gives  the  following 
table  showing  the  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  and  alkalies  contained  in  100  parts  of  the  ash 
of  several  plants  : 

Phosphoric  Acid.      Potash  and  Soda. 


Flax,     - 
Wheat  Straw, 
Oat  Straw,     - 
Bean  Straw. 
Red  Clover,  - 
Cabbage,   - 
Potato  Stalks, 
Turnip  Tops, 


7 

3     - 
3 
7     - 

8 

12      - 

7 
9     - 


12 
13 

«9 

55 

:/- 
32 

44 
34 


According  to  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair,  a  crop  of  wheat,  at  the  rate  of  25  bushels  of  grain 
and  3000  Ibs.  of  straw,  will  take  from  the  land  175  Ibs.  of  inorganic  matter  ;  beans,  231  Ibs. ; 


20  F  L  A  X     C  U  LT  U  R  E  . 


clover,  259  Ibs. ;  turnips,  640  Ibs., — and  according  to  Johnson,  Barley,  213  Ibs.,  and  oats, 
326  Ibs. ;  all  of  which  is  considerably  more  than  Flax  appropriates. 

All  that  the  Flax  crop  takes  from  the  land  remains  in  the  steep-water  and  in  the  chaff  of 
the  scutched  Flax  ;  and  if,  after  suitable  decomposition  of  the  latter,  all  this  was  returned 
to  the  soil,  its  fertility  would  be  restored,  and  thus,  materials  at  present  utterly  neglected 
and  even  a  mere  incumbrance,  might  be  converted  into  valuable  manures,  for  as  Prof. 
Liebig  states,  the  seed  and  chaff  of  the  Flax  plant  is  rich  in  phosphates. 

It  must,  however,  be  remarked  here,  that  the  immense  quantity  of  weeds  with  which  the 
western  farmer  allows  his  Flax  field  to  be  overgrown,  are  immeasurably  more  exhausting  to 
the  land  than  the  crop  grown  on  it,  which,  on  account  of  its  meagerness,  both  as  regards 
seed  and  straw,  has  only  a  small  part  to  play  in  the  process  of  exhaustion. 

Much  other  testimony  from  reliable  and  competent  sources  might  be  brought  forward  to 
prove  that  Flax  has  been  traduced,  and  in  no  degree  deserves  the  stigma  that  has  been 
attached  to  it,  as  an  exhaustive  crop.  It  is  well  known  that  Egypt  was  the  great  Flax- 
growing  land  of  antiquity  ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  was  also  the  granary  of  the  world  !  In 
Belgium,  where  the  relative  area  under  Flax  is  greater  than  in  any  other  country,  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  has  been  constantly  improving  for  centuries.  "The  reason  of  this,"  says 
Robert  Scott  Burn,"  is  that  Flax  culture  involves  good  husbandry,"  and  "  Flax  cultivation 
"  and  bad  cultivation  are  quite  incompatible." 

A  Dorsetshire  gentleman  writes,  (Bath  Society  papers,  1871}  :  "  One  peculiar  advantage 
' '  attending  the  cultivation  of  hemp  and  flax  is  that  a  crop  of  the  former  prepares  the  land 
' '  for  the  latter,  and  therefore  a  crop  of  hemp  is  clear  gain  to  the  farmer.  That  these 
"  plants  impoverish  the  soil  is  a  mere  vulgar  notion  devoid  of  all  truth.  The  best  historical 
"relations  and  the  verbal  accounts  of  honest  ingenuous  planters  concur  in  declaring  it  to  be 
"  a  vain  prejudice  unsupported  by  any  authority  ;  and  that  these  crops  really  ameliorate  and 
"  improve  the  soil." 

It  is  a  well-known  and  significant  fact  that  the  finest  crops  of  wheat  may  be  grown 
immediately  after  Flax  in  rotation.  Thus,  not  only  do  scientific  analyses,  and  the  experi- 
ments and  observations  of  eminent  agricultural  writers  go  to  show  that  prejudice  against 
Flax  is  to  a  great  degree  unfounded,  but  experience  with  Flax  in  the  rotation  of  crops  also 
proves  that  it  is  not  a  crop  to  be  avoided  for  its  alleged  impoverishment  of  the  soil. 

Another  objection  that  is  sometimes  made  to  Flax  culture  is  that  it  "  requires  so  much 
farm  help."  There  is  no  doubt  that  Flax  to  be  a  successful  crop,  requires  much  more  care- 
ful cultivation,  weeding,  etc.,  than  most  other  products,  but  it  may  be  remarked  on  the 
other  hand,  that  if  properly  treated  it  will  be  much  more  remunerative  than  any  other  crop, 
and  thus  amply  compensate  the  farmer  for  his  extra  trouble  and  outlay.  Careful  cultivation 
cannot  be  too  emphatically  insisted  upon.  The  pains-taking  culturist  will  obtain  the  max- 
imum, and  he  that  is  careless  and  slovenly,  the  minimum  result  in  Flax  raising. 


ANALYSIS  OF  FLAX  SOILS. 

One  of  the  most  important  points  in  practical,  intelligent  agriculture,  is  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  composition  of  the  plant  to  be  cultivated,  and  to  know  what  soils  are 
best  adapted  to  its  growth.  As  I  have  given  in  the  foregoing  pages  the  chemical  analysis 
of  the  Flax  plant,  it  may  be  interesting  and  useful  to  many  of  my  readers  to  know  also  the 
composition  of  the  soils  which  have  been  found  most  suitable  for  its  cultivation. 


ANALYSIS    OF    FLAX   SOILS— IN    CONCLUSION. 


Following  is  the  result  of  analyses  made  by  Sir  Robert  Kane,  of  four  excellent   Flax 
soils  : — Nos.  I,  2  and  3  being  Irish,  and  No.  4,  Belgian  : 


No.  i. 

No.  2. 

No.  3. 

No.  4. 

Silica  and  Siliceous  Sand  

73.72 

60.41 

64.  en 

02.78 

Oxide  of  Iron  

c  EI 

e  2Q 

5  64 

o  66 

Alumina  

6.65 

£5.70 

8.  07 

i.  ii 

Phosphate  of  Iron 

o  06 

O  2^ 

O  11 

O  21 

Carbonate  of  Lime  

I.OQ 

O.  W 

1.67 

O.Ti 

Magnesia  and  Alkalies,   with  traces  of  ( 
Sulphuric  and  Muriatic  Acids.  .  .  )" 
Organic  matter  

0.32 
4.86 

0.25 
6.67 

0.45 
0.41 

0.12 
2.  74 

Water  

7  57 

n  48 

8  T\ 

2  O^ 

Totals  

QQ.78 

qq.  158 

IOO.  II 

IOO.OO 

It  should  be  added  that  the  organic  matter,  which  ranged  from  2.74  to  9.41  per  cent, 
was  rich  in  nitrogen,  which  fact,  of  course,  had  much  to  do  with  the  fertility  of  the  soils. 


IN  CONCLUSION. 

This  pamphlet  being  intended  especially  as  a  treatise  on  Flax  growing,  for  the  benefit 
of  farmers  interested  in  that  industry,  I  do  not  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the  different 
methods  of  "  retting,"  and  preparing  the  fiber  for  market.  As  I  have  heretofore  intimated, 
this  cannot  be  undertaken  by  the  farmer  without  adding  greatly  to  his  labors,  which  in  many 
instances  are  already  too  onerous.  The  preparation  of  the  fiber  belongs  to  the  province  of 
the  manufacturer,  and  requires,  in  addition  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  various  processes,  • 
the  employment  of  expensive  machinery.  Therefore,  in  the  development  of  this  important 
industry  in  the  United  States,  a  practical  recognition  of  its  natural  divisions  cannot  be 
ignored,  as  otherwise  it  can  never  attain  the  proportions  commensurate  with  its  value,  and 
with  the  extraordinary  facilities  and  resources  here  afforded. 

To  the  public-spirited  and  patriotic  who  are  interested  in  the  progress  c  f  American 
Agriculture,  a  broad  field  is  open  for  investigation  and  profitable  enterprise. 

It  would  appear  to  be  necessary  only  to  call  attention  to  the  important  facts  relating  to 
Flax  culture  in  this  country,  to  create  a  vital  and  growing  interest  in  the  subject.  We  may 
hope  that  ere  long  the  formation  of  a  Society  for  the  promotion  of  Flax  culture  in  this 
country  will  be  found  desirable.  Such  an  organization  would  have  a  powerful  influence  and 
grand  opportunities.  It  might  readily  give  such  an  impetus  to  a  most  important  industry 
as  to  increase  the  wealth  of  the  nation  by  many  millions  of  dollars  annually. 

Then,  instead  of  American  Flax  culture  remaining  a  synonym  for  gross  waste,  in  the 
destruction  of  vast  quantities  of  valuable  raw  material,  it  would  speedily  become  one  of  the 
most  popular  and  profitable  of  our  agricultural  industries. 


FLAX    CULTURE. 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  diagrams  show  the  areas  devoted  in  1880  to  the  cultivation  of  Flax  in 
the  principal  Flax-producing  countries  of  the  world,  with  the  approximate  quantity  of 
Flax  fiber  produced,  in  tons  of  2240  Ibs. 


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AREA  DEVOTED  TO  FLAX  CULTURE. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  AREA  DEVOTED  IN  1880  TO  THE  CULTIVATION  OK  FLAX  IN  THE 
FOLLOWING  COUNTRIES,  WITH  THE  QUANTITY  OF  FLAX  FIBER  PRODUCED  IN  EACH 
COUNTRY,  THE  APPROXIMATE  TOTAL  VALUE  OF  SAME,  AND  THE  APPROXIMATE 
YIELD  PER  ACRE,  viz: 


COUNTRIES. 

ACREAGE. 

QUANTITY  OF 
FLAX  FIBER 
PRODUCED  — 
TONS. 

VALUE  OF 
THE    FIBER 
IN  FOREIGN 
COUNTRIES. 

YIELD  PER 
ACRE, 
FIBER  ALONE. 

RUSSIA,   -    - 
GERMANY,    - 
AUSTRIA  AND  HUNGARY, 
ITALY,     -    - 
FRANCE,  -    - 
IRELAND, 
BELGIUM,     - 
HOLLAND,    - 

2,000,000 
329,962 
245  090 
200,356 
162,099 

157,534 
140,901 

44,114 
33,639 
15,000 

8,985 
6,292 
957 

250,000 
57,432 
50,463 
22,953 
36,969 
24,508 
29,580 
7,386 
4,205 

i,875 
1.398 

787 
119 

$50,000,000 
11,500,000 
10,900,000 
4.600,000 

11,000,000 

7,500,000 
9,000,000 

2,200,000 
850,000 

75,000 

00,000 

58.000 
25,000 

About  $25.00 
35-00 
44.00 
23.00 
68.00 
48.00 
64.00 
50.00 
25.00 
25.00 
33-00 
25.00 
26.00 

T**P  VPT 

GREAT  BRITAIN,  - 
DENMARK,   - 

FOREIGN  CO'TRIES,  TOTAL, 
UNITED  STATES,  WEST  OF 

PA 

3.  344-329  Acres. 
1,127,300      " 

487,675  Tons. 

Fiber 
destroyed. 

$108,408,000 

Value  of  seed 
saved, 
$8,000,000 

Average,  $  32  oo 
$7.10  per  acre. 

FA.  , 

AREA  UNDER  FLAX   IN! 

l88l    IN  THE  FOLLOWING 

STATES,  viz  : 


IMPORTS  INTO  THE    UNITEDSTATES. 

RAW  FLAX. 
From  1871  to  1880,   39,480  Tons — Valued  at  $10,986.469 


IOWA,     -    - 
INDIANA,     - 
KANSAS, 
ILLINOIS.     - 
MINNESOTA, 
OHIO,     -    - 
MISSOURI.   - 
NEBRASKA, 
WISCONSIN, 

287,400  Ac 
193,400 
160,900 
160,300 
92,200 
80,600 
55,ooo 
50,000 
44<5oo 

res. 

i 

In  1881,                     -    5,446     " 

1,462.286 

TOTAL,     44,962  Tons  —  Valued  at  $12,448,745 

FLAX  MANUFACTURES. 

$177,748,317 
21,020,571 

Tn    T^Rr 

TOTAL, 

$198,768,942 

TOTAL,  -i 

.127,300  Acres. 

HEMP,  JUTE    AND   OTHER    FIBERS    AND 

PRODUCTS 

No  merchantable   Flax  Fiber\ 

produced.  From  I8yi  to  l88o, 

In  1881. 

TOTAL  QUANTITY  OF  FLAX 
SEED  SAVED  ON  THIS  AREA 
ABOUT  (bushels)  8,000.000 


VALUED  AT    -    -    $8,000,000 

The  average  yield  in  E.urope 
of  Fiber  alone  is  $j2  per  acre. 
In  the  Western  States  the  seed 
yields  only  $7.70  per  acre. 


THEREOF. 

-  $80,611,758 
19,558,126 


TOTAL, 


$91,169,884 


TOTAL  VALUE  OF  OUR  IMPORTS  FROM  1871  TO  1881. 

RAW  FLAX,    -  •    -    -    $12,448,745 

FLAX  MANUFACTURES, 198,768,942 

HEMP,  JUTE,  ETC.  ,  and  manufactures  thereof ,  91,169,884 

TOTAL,  -         -    -     $302,387,571 


24 


FLAX    CULTURE. 


RECEIPTS  AT  ST.  LOUIS  OF  HEMP,  FLAX  AND  JUTE. 


HEMP 

—  BALES  400  LBS. 

EACH. 

FLAX-TOW.  —  BALES  250 

LBS.    EACH. 

JUTE.  —  BALES  475  LBS. 

EACH. 

iSSi, 

3,580  bales. 

1881, 

5,060  bales. 

1881,     - 

40,711  bales\ 

1880, 

1,731 

1880, 

-       10,475 

1880,     - 

36,175 

V 

1879, 

4-072 

1879, 

9,480 

1879,     - 

27,040 

1878, 

5,087 

1878, 

26,976 

1878, 

28,528 

1877, 

7,930 

1877, 

9>546 

i877, 

23,525 

1876, 

3,157 

1876, 

5,016 

1876, 

30,542 

1875, 

3,96o 

1875, 

1,726 

1875, 

21,109 

1874, 

11,266 

,  1874, 

1,124 

1874,     - 

10,325 

1873, 

-       16,860 

1873, 

14,160      ' 

1872, 
1871, 
1870, 

20,790 
-       15,292 
12,716 

1872, 
1871, 
1870, 

17,369      ' 
15.400 

i6,399 

Jute  came  into  use  in 
for  the  manufacture  of 

1874 

bag- 

1869, 

24,468 

1869. 

9<035 

ging- 

1868, 

-       25,699 

1868, 

6,334 

1867, 

-       30,750 

1867, 

-         3,i69      ' 

IMPORTS  OF  FOREIGN  DRY  GOODS 
AT  THE  PORT  OF  NEW  YORK,  AND  VALUE 
OF  FLAX  PRODUCTS  INCLUDED  THEREIN, 
SHOWING  THE  PROPORTION  OF  THE  LATTER 
IN  OUR  ANNUAL  IMPORTS,  viz. : 


RESUME. 


On  the  immense  area  of  1,127,300 
acres,  second  only  to  Russia,  we  annually 
raise  Flax  seed  to  the  value  of  $£,000,000, 
(about  §j.  i o  per  acre),  while  four-fifths  of 
the  Flax  straw  produced  being  through 
careless  and  improper  cultivation  of  too  in- 
ferior a  quality,  is  wasted,  and  a  very 
small  quantity  is  turned  into  coarse  tow 
for  upholsterers,  or  used  for  cotton  bag- 
ging or  twine,  or  given  as  feed  to  cattle. 

The  value  of  the  product  of  Flax  fiber 
and  seed  in  Russia,  on  an  area  of  2,000,- 
ooo  acres,  is  above  §60,000,000,  or  more 
than  $jo  per  acre.  Belgium,  on  an  area 
of  140,901  acres,  or  one-eighth  of  the 
area  under  Flax  in  the  Western  States, 
annually  produces  $/,  000,000  more  than 
we.  France,  on  an  area  of  162,099  acres, 
or  exactly  one-seventh  of  the  area  under 
Flax  in  the  United  States,  produces 
$j, 000,000  more  than  we.  Sweden,  on 
an  area  of  33,639  acres,  or  one  thirty- 
fourth  of  our  Flax  area,  would  nearly  cover  the  present  demand  of  our  home  industry. 
Our  imports  of  Raw  Flax,  Linen  manufactures,  Hemp,  Jute,  and  other  fibers  and  man- 
ufactures thereof,  during  a  period  of  eleven  years,  from  1871  to  1881  inclusive,  have 
drained  the  land  of  the  enormous  sum  of  $302,387,571. 


TOTAL  VALUE  OF  DRY 
GOODS  IMPORTED. 

VALUE  OF  FLAX 
PRODUCTS. 

iSSi,     - 

$124,522,695 

$21,020,571 

1880,     - 

108,910  993 

23,730,326 

1879,     -' 

H3,337,oo7 

15.663,288 

1878,     - 

79,606,048 

15,590,829 

1877,     - 

74,717,031 

17,075,217 

1876,     - 

88,058,966 

19,365,979 

1875,     - 

106,501,249 

23,942,659 

1874,     - 

106,706,644 

22,716,483 

1873,     - 

125,086,091 

25,420,589 

1872,     - 

139,903,902 

26,938,273 

1871,     - 

126,123,210 

23,916,474 

1870,     - 

96,414,276 

21,011,718 

1869,     - 

92,499,846 

18,765,741 

1868,     - 

77,254,192 

17,941,094 

1867,     - 

103,407,278 

25,795,410 

1866,     - 

137,056,834 

27,227,039 

1865,     - 

49,853,939 

n,945,585 

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